Roger Williams University expanding presence in downtown Providence

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Roger Williams University plans to double the size of its presence in downtown Providence with the opening in May of its new campus offices at One Empire Plaza.

The university is currently renovating the space on the five floors it will occupy in the office building that has been vacant since Curt Schilling's 38 Studios went bankrupt in 2012. The Social Security Administration will occupy the sixth floor.

Donald J. Farish, Roger Williams president, said, "This will be the home for all the work we do in Providence. One Empire Plaza represents more than $10 million in investment from Roger Williams and our further investment in Providence and urban Rhode Island."

The building is owned by Empire Lasalle, an affiliate of Berkeley Investments, based in Boston.

Roger Williams has signed a 12-year lease and will occupy about 75,000 square feet. As previously reported, the university will pay nearly $23 million in rent through 2028.

The renovations are being done with the help of financing from Washington Trust.

The university's move from its current location at 150 Washington St. will provide more space for law students, continuing education classes, graduate programs and a growing array of outreach programs, including the Latino Policy Institute, HousingWorks RI and the Community Partnerships Center.

University students and staffers will take up the first four floors and a part of the fifth floor — about 75 percent of the 100,000-square-foot building at the corner of Empire and Washington streets.

There will be 18 classrooms with space ranging from 30 to 50 seats, as well as more than 100 conference rooms, meeting spaces and offices. A welcome area and gallery will be used for special events and a university bookstore and café will be located on the second floor.

The university is working with Vision3 Architects, while Berkeley will join with Columbia Construction Co., of North Reading, Mass., to undertake the renovations.

The move to One Empire Plaza marks an expansion in the city where the university originated in 1919 as the Northeastern University School of Commerce and Finance in the Providence YMCA. With its main campus in Bristol, Roger Williams began looking in early 2013 for more space downtown.

For much of its life, One Empire Plaza housed employees from Blue Cross Blue Shield. Berkeley Investments in 2008 purchased two buildings from Blue Cross: One Empire Plaza and 15 La Salle Square, which now houses Hasbro Inc. workers.